Still deploying 11n Wi-Fi? You might want to think again

The newest version of the 802.11 standard 802.11ac is ready for prime time. The official IEEE standard is finished, the Wi-Fi Alliance has issued a specification for interoperability, essentially all enterprise-class Wi-Fi system vendors are shipping (or have at least announced) 802.11ac products, and price/performance is significantly improved over 802.11n products. The price differential between .11n and .11ac access points is, in fact, so low that the continued purchase of .11n access points can legitimately be called into question.

In this Network World Digital Spotlight, "Harnessing Gigabit Wi-Fi," we do a deep dive on the latest Wi-Fi developments, exploring:

* The early lessons. Early users are saying 802.11ac is all about capacity vs. coverage. And some shops that were so constrained by demand have already made the gigabit jump and relate their experiences.

* Preparing for Gig WiFi. Installing this next generation Wi-Fi technology is mandatory and soon but, luckily a broad range of deployment scenarios enable a cost-effective fit for virtually every situation. Here's what you need to know about what just might be the last major WLAN upgrade.

* The Other Gigabit Wireless LAN Standard: 802.11ad. 802.11ac is grabbing all the headlines, but there's another gigabit wireless-LAN standard IEEE 802.11ad that was approved over a year ago and offers levels of performance that 802.11ac won't see until 2015, at the earliest.

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